Carnival
by stolenxsanity
Summary: Written for "Fics for Nashville." It's a surprise that comes with caramel apples, glow-in-the-dark crowns and stuffed bears. All of that, though, is nothing more than a prelude to the big question. Their future hinges on her answer. JasperxBella, AH


**Title: **Carnival**  
Author: **stolenxsanity**  
Characters/Pairings: **JasperxBella, BPOV**  
Rating: **T**  
Spoilers: **None; AH/AU

**Summary:** It's a surprise that comes with caramel apples, glow-in-the-dark crowns and stuffed bears. All of that is nothing more than a prelude to the big question, though. Their future hinges on her answer.

**Disclaimer: **_Twilight _and all recognizable characters belong to SMeyer.

**A/N: **One-shot written for the "**Fics for Nashville**" compilation fundraiser.

Huge thanks to my lovely and wonderful betas and pre-readers: **naelany, queenofgrey, ahizelm1 **& **Zigster**. Special thanks to my bb's, **vi0lentserenity **& **gypsysue** for putting their prejudices aside and pre-reading this even though they are very much opposed to _jella_. You are _all_ amazing. And, of course, big, _big_ thanks to everyone that donated to the cause and received this fic as a part of the compilation back in June.

* * *

"_Bella!_"

I had barely stumbled into the house that I shared with my long time boyfriend, Jasper, when I heard him calling to me from the direction of our bedroom. His voice was slightly muffled as he spoke and I couldn't help but roll my eyes as I moved toward the sound, finding him in the back corner of the closet and surrounded by clothes – both at his feet and hanging down around his head. My eyebrows furrowed together as I took in the unusual sight before me and I knew, without having to see my face, that it was painted with a look of utter confusion. Jasper was a holey jeans and t-shirt kind of guy that tended to just toss his clothes onto the nearest available surface – even when clean – and didn't care much for the order that the closet – which I'd long ago claimed as _mine_ – offered.

"What are you doing?" I finally asked as he rifled through each outfit. The incredulity was clear in my tone and I couldn't be bothered with trying to mask it as I stood at the entrance, eyebrow arched in question.

Having not noticed my presence just a few feet away, Jasper dropped whatever it was that he held in his hand as his head whipped around toward me. An almost sheepish look took over his face once he'd surveyed the damage he'd wreaked on what had, just hours prior, been an immaculate space.

"Sorry, B," he stated before brushing his hair from his face. "I guess I got a little carried away." The slight, crooked smile that I'd grown accustomed to over the years that we'd known each other appeared and, just like that, I melted. It had that affect on me, something that Jasper was very well aware of and used to his advantage every time he did something that warranted my ire or irritation. I could already feel my mouth twitching as I struggled to keep my expression stoic and unmoved by his show of levity.

Crossing my arms over my chest and tilting my head to the side, I waited – somewhat impatiently – for Jasper to expand on his apologies and tell my _why_ he was tearing apart my closet when he _should _have _still_ been at work. After a few too-long minutes of watching as his eyes darted nervously around the enclosed space while his mouth opened and closed repeatedly, I sighed and walked inside to stand beside him. I leaned my head against his shoulder and inhaled deeply, feeling content with the proximity and much more relaxed than I had been only seconds ago.

"You look like … I don't know what but it's kind of freaking me out." My words were rushed as I turned my face up so I could see his. "You're nervous about something and that makes _me_ nervous ..." Letting the sentence trail off, I shook my head and looked at the clothes hanging around us while I tried to figure out why he would be home right now on what was, by all accounts, a normal day. There was nothing exceptional about it except for the fact that I'd promised Jasper his favorite dinner before I'd left for work this morning. As I continued to try and determine the cause of his odd behavior, I realized that unlike every other weekday morning for the past two years, while Jasper had been awake at the usual time and sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee and the Comics section of the newspaper, he hadn't actually been _dressed_ for work.

Slowly, I processed this new bit of information before realizing that, since I'd arrived, I hadn't gotten anything out of Jasper but an apology. Maneuvering around the small space, I turned to face him while I wrestled my thoughts into some semblance of order instead of the organized chaos that it usually was. Jasper's hands – rough from the years that he'd spent working as a mechanic – ran up and down my arms and pulled me from my own head. Meeting his gaze with a quizzical one of my own, I stifled a sigh and leaned my forehead against his chest. Despite the gauntlet of emotions that were coursing through my body and the questions that were at the tip of my tongue, I reveled in the contact and security that Jasper provided.

"Are you going to tell me what you were doing in here," I murmured. My voice was gentle and tinged with an air of amusement as I spoke, lips curled into a soft smile. "Or why you're so _anxious_?" Jasper was usually the picture of ease; nothing ever appeared to ruffle him so _this_ was completely out of character, and just a little daunting.

Even without looking at him, I knew that Jasper was smiling as he began speaking. The familiar cadence, and slight southern drawl, calmed me even further. "We're going out tonight," was his simple response as he reached around me, letting his fingers inch up under my shirt and rest on my lower back. "I was looking for something but ..." His words trailed off into nothingness and I felt his shoulders rise and fall in a shrug. Still, I waited patiently for Jasper to elaborate on his incomplete sentence and, when he didn't, I lifted my head from its spot and eyed him warily.

"What were you looking for?" I asked, unable to stem the curiosity that had been awakened by the scene that I'd walked in on moments before.

Several emotions flickered across Jasper's face as he appeared to ponder my question for far too long. Finally, after several quiet moments that were only interrupted by the light sounds of our inhales and exhales, he grinned widely and thrust a crumpled up mass of gray fabric into my chest. "This."

The single word response didn't come with any sort of an explanation but I couldn't help but smile at the look on Jasper's face. It was joyous, and the corners of his eyes were crinkled happily, despite the fact that I was still absolutely puzzled. Looking down at what he'd given me, my befuddlement only grew as I furrowed my eyebrows and stared at the old t-shirt that I'd all but forgotten still existed. Before I could question him any further, though, Jasper's lips were on mine and all rational thought flew out the window. I fisted my free hand in his hair, holding him in place as our mouths and tongues moved together. It was all slow and wet and warm and over well before I wanted it to be. An unhappy whimper escaped me and Jasper chuckled at the sound as he brushed my hair back and out of my face.

"Don't question me, just wear it," he demanded in a mock-serious tone before pressing his lips to my forehead and walking away. His steps faltered just inside the entrance and he turned back to look at me, "and those jeans that you claim don't fit you anymore but you're really only embarrassed to wear them because they're a little _snug_ in all the right places." With those parting words, and a self-satisfied smirk, Jasper disappeared as I stood frozen in place, gaping at the spot that he'd just vacated.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*

Frowning at my reflection in the mirror for what felt like the millionth time in the past five minutes I, once again, attempted to adjust the t-shirt I wore. The confusion that I'd felt at Jasper's request had only increased once I'd actually seen what it had looked like _on_ me. It was _tight_ and hugged my chest like a second skin where the cotton material stretched to accommodate my increase in cup size since I'd last donned it. In fact, if memory served me correctly, Alice and Rose had strictly forbidden me from wearing it _ever again_ a few years ago when I'd finally conceded to their fashion advice and allowed them to have their way with my wardrobe. I'd managed to save the shirt from the trash pile only when they weren't paying attention – _for sentimental purposes, of course _– but hadn't foreseen myself using it again. Despite that, I couldn't help but smile at the faded words that were screen printed across the cotton fabric: _Forget Youth. What the world could use is a fountain of smart_. With one last cursory glance, I struggled internally with myself to _not_ change and retrieved my purse and jacket from where I'd left them on the bed.

"Jazz," I called out once I'd reached the empty living room. Hearing nothing in response, I huffed a bit petulantly and sat on the arm of the couch, waiting. He hadn't said when we were leaving but I didn't think that I'd been wrong in assuming that it would be as soon as possible. Still, the moments dragged on as I fidgeted with the hem of the shirt obsessively. As focused as I was on the task at hand, I hadn't heard Jasper enter the room and gasped, startled, when his arms wrapped around me from behind.

"You smell good," he whispered against my ear before pulling back and walking around to stand in front of me. His hands rested on my thighs as he looked me over, and I couldn't help but smirk as the color of his eyes darkened to a steel blue that looked a lot closer to dark gray. Leaning forward, Jasper pressed his forehead to mine as his gaze dropped to my mouth. I watched, mesmerized, as his tongue slipped out and moved slowly – lazily – along his bottom lip, and I licked my own in return. I wanted to feel them molded together, moving hungrily against each other, but before I could make a move, Jasper stepped back. A wide grin was on his face as he regarded me for a moment, his eyes glinting playfully in the dim light that the room offered.

"We need to get going," he stated firmly, his hands squeezing my thighs briefly before he released them. With that declaration, Jasper pulled me to my feet, a silly grin on his face as he did so, and spun me around toward the door. "After you … Miss Swan." Though his tone was still laced with its earlier humor, I hadn't missed the slight hesitation in his words. For the time being, though, I chose to ignore it. With the both of us having been so busy with work lately – him with the garage that he'd finally opened only a few months prior, and me with my teaching position at the nearby college – we hadn't spent as much time together as I would have liked. Tonight was the first time in a long time that we'd actually done anything outside of the house, and even though it hadn't been planned, I was going to enjoy myself.

During the drive, I tried – unsuccessfully – to find out where we were going from Jasper but he refused to budge. All he gave me was an amused smile and an off-hand, "_you'll see_." To say that I was frustrated would have been an understatement.

I knew that it couldn't have been anywhere fancy given the state of dress we were in but that didn't do anything to quell the nervous anxiety that I felt. As much as I'd changed over the years since we'd first met our senior year of high school, I _still_ hated surprises with a passion. This was something that Jasper was very well aware of yet still used to his advantage as much as possible.

Since he stoutly refused to give me any pertinent information, though, I focused instead on what he wore. Everything about his get-up screamed _vintage_ or _thrift store_ and, with startling clarity, I realized that I hadn't seen any of it in years. Scuffed, black combat style boots were left partially untied on his feet and barely covered by the frayed ends of his pant legs. Unlike the current styles being marketed by _Abercrombie and Fitch_, _Hollister_ or even _Pacsun, _the holes that littered the denim fabric were naturally acquired over time through general wear and tear. His shirt, like mine, was a little more fitted than it used to be, and stretched tight across his chest and around his biceps. The words were faded and peeling, barely legible, but I could recall them perfectly from memory.

"Aren't they a little before your time?_" I'd asked, eyebrow arched as I took in the swirling script. _

"The Rolling Stones?_" The look on Jasper's face was incredulous as he scoffed and shook his head at me. Had it been anyone else, I would have felt as if I were being mocked but the constant twitch at the corner of his mouth let me know that it wasn't the case here. Plucking the fabric in between his pointer and thumb, Jasper had pulled it out away from his chest, and looked down at it before meeting my eyes again. "_There's no age limit on good music._" His smile was cocky but not extremely so as I stared into the blue-gray of his eyes and sighed, the toes of my shoes scraping against the concrete driveway as we waited. _

"What's got you thinking so hard over there?" Jasper questioned, pulling me from my memories and back to the present, to the car that was currently speeding down the highway to an unknown destination. I glanced over at him, letting my gaze linger on his shirt before looking down at my own. Back and forth my eyes traveled while my mouth opened and closed over and over again before I shook my head.

"The shirts," I muttered as I blinked and looked up at Jasper. His face was turned toward me, a smirk painted across his full, all too kissable lips. We stared at each other for what felt like hours but couldn't have been more than a minute or so before Jasper turned his attention back to the road in front of us.

"What about the shirts?" He drawled. This time, the inquiry was full to the brim with innuendo – though not of the sexual nature – and I sputtered, blushing at the thought that he'd somehow remembered that night as well as I had.

Instead of responding right away, like I should have, I turned and looked out the window. The scenery rushed by quickly, houses and foliage blurring together, as the drive continued on in a comfortable but charged silence. I still didn't know where we were headed, nor what had been the reasoning behind Jasper's sudden desire to go out tonight, but the pieces were slowly fitting together within my brain. The warmth of Jasper's palm encircled my forearm before traveling down and unclasping the fist that my hand had unwittingly curled into. His fingers threaded between mine and, at the contact, I breathed a sigh of contentment, relief.

"You were saying," he gently prodded again, voice quiet but amused. The car began to slow before we turned into a vaguely familiar – though I couldn't quite put my finger on why – side street. According to the clock on the radio, we'd been driving for just over an hour, and with brows furrowed, I examined the area closely, trying to glean something from our surroundings.

A bit further down the road, there was what appeared to be a makeshift parking area bordering an open, but crowded, field. The closer we got, the easier it was to discern what was ahead. My confusion quickly morphed into excitement and I bounced twice in the seat, pulling my hand away from Jasper's as we parked in the first available space. I was unbuckled and out the door before he'd had a chance to say a word, standing at the front of the car as I rocked back and forth from toe to heel.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*

We stood just inside the security-manned gate, our hands clasped together as I took in everything around us. The sights and sounds and scents that permeated the air swirled around us, encompassing us, as my eyes flashed to and fro. I didn't want to miss a single thing and I didn't care how childlike I appeared to anyone at that very moment. I couldn't remember exactly when I'd last experienced this and I know, without having to see myself, that my eyes were wide – almost comically so.

Squeezing Jasper's hand once before releasing it with a laugh, I walked toward the nearest vendor. The sign that hung crookedly across the exterior drew my attention like a moth to flame and I giggled happily as I made my way over. I could feel Jasper's presence behind me, never more than a few steps away, as the crowd jostled us from all sides. What would have been an extreme irritation in any other setting just made me laugh even more as the wind whipped the loose tendrils of hair around my face. There were only a handful of patrons in front of us, and as we came to a stop at the end of the line, I turned around to face Jasper.

"The carnival? Of all the places that we could have gone … I'm not complaining, obviously, but I don't really understand why you chose here, either." My head was tilted to the side, hair hanging down past my shoulder as the ends tickled the sliver of skin visible between the top of my jeans and the hem of my shirt, while I awaited his answer – his reasoning – for bringing me to the carnival.

"Well," Jasper started as he grasped my hips in his hands, the rough pads of his fingers sending tiny shockwaves of pleasure coursing through my entire body. "For starters, to see this smile." As he spoke, his face inched closer to mine until his lips were brushing lightly against the corner of my mouth with his words. Unintentionally, my breathing sped up and Jasper's eyes darkened as they glanced down toward my heaving chest before he kissed me full on the mouth. It was completely chaste, given our location, but the thoughts running through my head were of the decidedly lascivious nature. As much as I was enjoying our night out so far, there was a rather large and incredibly persistent part of me that just wanted to say _to hell with it_ and drag him home. With an amused chuckle, though, Jasper pulled back and let his arms fall away, leaving me feeling bereft and frustrated. A short huff escaped my mouth as I glared – the expression not the least bit menacing or intimidating – at him.

"And, obviously, for the caramel apples … you're up," was his response as he looked over my shoulder with smile.

Pouting ineffectively, I batted at the wayward blond locks that had fallen into Jasper's face, pushing them back and running my fingers through the silky strands. "That was not fair," I chastised playfully, before turning around and greeting the woman in front of and above me.

Once I caught sight of the delicious, skewered, caramel coated apples to her right, I could feel myself practically salivating. Ordering one for myself and one for Jasper – though we both knew that I'd end up eating his, too – I quickly paid for the snacks before threading my fingers through Jasper's and dragging him along behind me. Since the rides were out until I finished the apples, we made our way through the aisle of vendors selling their little trinkets and souvenirs, stopping occasionally to look at one thing or another before continuing on. By the time we'd reached the end of the booths, Jasper's arms were filled with an assortment of cheap toys and his head was adorned with the cheesiest glow-in-the-dark crown I could find.

"That's a good look for you," I joked, nodding toward the head decoration as we wandered aimlessly for a bit, contemplating rides and games and more food – food that we could really get anywhere but somehow just tasted better if we got it here instead.

Rolling his eyes and heaving a faux-exasperated sigh, Jasper plucked the crown off and placed it on my head, adjusting it so it sat crookedly. "I think it's a better look for you," he replied before leaning down and kissing the tip of my nose. "Now, how about some games?"

I couldn't help but grin widely at the childlike exuberance that lit up his face while I nodded frantically, laughing as the headdress slid off my head and onto the ground. "Will you win me something?" I asked as I rocked forward on my toes and pressed my lips against Jasper's. At his nod of acquiescence, my hand slid down his arm and grabbed his wrist while I turned my head from side to side, trying to find the tents that housed the games.

"It's this way, I think," Jasper stated after a few minutes as he took me by the hand and pulled me to the left, around a smattering of food booths. Sure enough, as we stepped into a small clearing between the throngs of people, I spotted the various carnival games up ahead. In a move that I'd always come to consider as so uniquely _Alice_, I started vibrating in place before hopping from foot to foot as we moved through the crowd at a pace much slower than I was comfortable with. As much as I loved the food and the rides, the games had been my biggest vice as a child, and it had been far too long since I'd had the opportunity to take part in them.

"Whoa, slow down there," came Jasper's voice and I laughed heartily at the delight that I heard behind his words.

Shaking my head, I continued forward, not caring about the people that we were bumping into in my effort to get us to our destination. "We're almost there," I half-shouted over my shoulder without turning my head fully in his direction. "Just a few more people." It was almost as if I had tunnel vision and nothing else, save for the man walking behind me, existed.

Jasper chuckled as he stopped moving, the action causing me to stumble and stop in my tracks as well. "B, the games aren't going to go anywhere. I promise. Just hold on for a second." I pouted – certain that I looked more comical than anything else – as I faced him. With one glance at the look on his face, though, the childish antics quickly took a backseat. Without thought, I reached up and rested my hand on the side of his face as I smiled gently.

"Everything okay?" The question slipped out automatically as my fingers caressed Jasper's cheek. The light stubble was abrasive and course but comforting and I found myself wishing – even if only for a moment – that we were at home, snuggled together in bed with nothing between us.

"Perfect," Jasper responded, his fingers playing with the hem of my shirt. For a few minutes, he remained silent as he scrunched up the fabric almost distractedly. I wasn't sure what was going through his mind and though I had no reason to believe that anything was necessarily _wrong_, the jovial mood had shifted and morphed into this intensity that I wasn't sure what to do with. Even though it was typical Jasper, I wasn't ready to lose the light hearted feel that had marked the night thus far. Still, I waited patiently for him to gather his thoughts. I knew he'd tell me whatever was on his mind eventually but patience had never been my forte.

Just as I was about to ask, again, if everything was okay or see if maybe he didn't really want to play any games, one of his hands moved up to my chin and tilted my head back slightly. When I was younger, before I'd met Jasper, I always thought it was cheesy when people would say that they _got lost _in someone's eyes. That thought process felt like it had been a different lifetime pondered by an entirely different person.

"Do you remember that night when we were supposed to meet up with everyone and go to the carnival?" Jasper started. His tone was nostalgic as he spoke and my lips curved up into an involuntary smile at the thought as I remembered my earlier epiphany about tonight's choice of attire. "All you could talk about while we waited – _after_ insulting my choice of shirt, of course – was how much you wanted one of those large stuffed animals." His hand gestured toward the array of colorful animals hanging from hooks beneath the giant tents. "You were so adamant about it, too, and then," Jasper's words trailed off as he grinned, clearly amused as he remembered the turn of events.

"And then it started raining, as Forks, and the entire Olympic Peninsula is prone to do, and all our parents decided that we'd be better off with an indoor activity." I rolled my eyes as I spoke, remembering clearly the mini-tantrum that I'd thrown as Charlie had walked outside in the rain to inform Jasper and I of the phone call that he'd just received from the Whitlock's, Hale's and Cullen's. We were to go bowling instead.

"Though, I can't exactly complain about that night since that was when – thanks to Emmett's incessant prodding – I finally told you how I felt about you … you never got your bear." With that, Jasper spun me around so that he was leading the way instead. Though the evening's earlier mood had returned, it came with an indescribable fervency.

Within minutes, we were standing in front of the milk bottle game as Jasper lightly tossed the baseball from hand to hand, a look of severe concentration on his face. He'd asked me no less than five times if I was sure it was a bear that I wanted, and each time, my answer had been in the affirmative.

Licking his lips, Jasper focused intently on the stacked milk bottles across the way as he wound up in preparation. I couldn't help but laugh as his first pitch missed the mark entirely and the playfully scathing look that Jasper had shot my way only made me laugh even more. His eyes danced, glinting in the harsh light emanating from the bulbs hanging overhead as he made to try again. His next two throws weren't much better than the first but, as he pointed out while bumping his shoulder into mine to get me to stop laughing at him, "_at least they were closer to their intended target_."

As he tossed a few more bills on the counter, the game operator handed the baseballs back to him. I still giggled but attempted to smother the sound with my hand as I pressed it up against my mouth. It was just difficult not to have that particular reaction. The way that Jasper stared down the three unassuming bottles, glaring, was like they'd personally offended him in some way. I guess, in a sense, they had. He was, after all, a guy and I was sure that – even if he'd never admit to it – his pride had been wounded a little.

Deciding to try and be helpful instead, I began cheering him on a little. I clapped sporadically as I rolled my eyes at myself, feeling completely and utterly silly. I wasn't speaking very loud but I knew that he could hear me by the slight upward curve at the corner of his mouth and, instinctively, I reached up and ran my fingers through his long hair. My nails scratched at his scalp lightly as I reveled in the feel of the honey-colored strands sliding through the spaces between my fingers.

Distracted as I was by what I was doing, I hadn't noticed that Jasper had thrown another pitch until I heard the tell-tale sounds of the bottles knocking into each other and falling with a loud clatter. With a sharp intake of breath, I stopped what I was doing and turned, letting out a short squeal as my eyes flickered back and forth between the milk bottles, Jasper's smug smile, the bear that hung overhead and the carnie. It took a few minutes for my mouth to catch up to my brain and I grasped onto Jasper's arms tightly in an effort to rein in my reaction. It was nearly impossible to do so, though. Before anyone even had a chance to ask me exactly which bear that I wanted, I was already pointing excitedly at one near the back. It was blue, just a shade or two off from the color of Jasper's eyes, and held a heart clasped in both large paws. As I waited, I felt Jasper move behind me, his chin resting on my head while his hands wrapped around my waist and pulled me back.

"Ten years late but, you finally got your bear," he whispered in my ear before placing a kiss on the flesh right beneath it. My knees buckled a little at the contact and I leaned further into his body, letting the solid weight of his frame hold me up like I knew it would.

Tilting my face so that I could see him, I smiled widely and reached behind him to wrap an arm around his neck. Without saying a word, he leaned down and captured my mouth with his own. The entire night had been so far out of the realm of what had become the norm for us in the years since graduating from high school and embarking on an _adult_ life. Despite the simplicity of it all, I found that I'd enjoyed it so much more than any of the other dates – nights that involved being wined and dined at fancy restaurants while out with co-workers or friends – paled in comparison. This was _us,_ even if we'd lost sight of the people that we'd once been when the stresses of _real life_ had taken effect.

"Thank you," I murmured against his lips as I pulled back, returning my attention to the man that held the large stuffed animal out toward me.

Grasping it, I hugged the bear to my chest tightly while turning in Jasper's arms at the same time so that he – the bear, that is – was pressed between us. A second later, though, Jasper's warmth disappeared as he stepped back, taking the bear in his own hands before kneeling on the ground. My new furry and inanimate friend rested on his bent knee and, as I looked down at them both confusedly, I spotted the thin gold chain that hung down in front of the heart. It was barely noticeable but, as my eyes followed the gleaming metal, all the breath in my lungs was expelled in a rush as tears pricked at the corners of my eyes.

I watched studiously as Jasper's hands lifted and unclasped it, sliding the ring off and twirling it between his calloused fingers; the same fingers that had mapped every inch of my body and knew me intimately. The same fingers that had, over the years, wiped fallen tears from my cheeks or combed my hair out of my face. The same fingers that stroked my face reverently as he kissed, made love to, and comforted me.

"When I thought about how I wanted to do this," he started, his voice low and nervous. "I wanted to do something romantic, something that would sweep you off your feet. I had so many ideas going through my head that I wasn't sure how to sort through them all."

My eyes were fixed on his, reading the overt sincerity in the darkened blue irises. As he continued to speak, he grew more confident and the words came out stronger, more certain as his entire posture shifted and straightened. "I knew, though, that it wasn't you. You're a simple girl with simple ideals and _that_ was what I fell in love with all those years ago. I can't say that I've loved you from the moment that I saw you but I _can_ say that upon seeing you for the first time, sitting on the front steps the morning we moved in next door, my entire world shifted. All I saw was you."

Taking my hand in his, I felt my heart flutter as Jasper rubbed my palm soothingly, calming my anxiety with just a simple touch like he knew I needed right at that moment. "I love you, Isabella Marie Swan, and I can't live without you. I don't _want_ to live without you." I could feel the presence of the other carnival-goers around me, many of them having stopped what they were doing to take in what was happening between Jasper and me. Under any other circumstances, I would have flushed red, embarrassed with the amount of attention we were receiving. All of that, though, was my very last concern as I waited for Jasper to finish speaking, to ask me what I knew he was trying to ask.

Jasper's throat bobbed as he swallowed and my gaze dropped to his mouth when his tongue peeked out between his plump lips, wetting the flesh with one languid stroke. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you and only you, B. Will you do me the honor of marrying me and becoming Mrs. Jasper Whitlock?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, the tears that I'd been blinking back fell unchecked. My head jerked up and down as I choked on a sob before falling to my knees in front of him. I barely felt the sharp pain that ran up my legs as I landed hard on the gravel and dirt; all my thoughts and senses were focused on Jasper. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I pressed myself into his body and continued to nod. "Yes. God yes," I finally managed to get out as I continued to cry.

Tears of happiness rained down my face as Jasper slid the ring onto my left ring finger where it would remain for the rest of our lives.

And, the bear …

The cheap trinket that I'd only wanted from the carnival, the one that I had been waiting all these years for, would forever be my second most prized possession. Jasper, of course, would always remain first and foremost. I may not have been the most patient person but, after all this time, the wait had been well worth it.


End file.
